Custom Materials and Textures

I have been trying to improve the realism of the VR simulations. One area that I have managed to improve is the surface textures within my galleries. I have been relying on either flat colour (no detail) or example textures that come as standard with UE4. These textures are a little low on resolution and the image part of the textures are of quite a small area, so one tends to notice them repeating over large or long surface areas... like on a gallery floor or wall!

Even the most pristine surface or gallery wall always has some sort of texture and is why in a simulation the flat colour does not look so real.

The biggest problem is the obvious repeating patterns. And the easiest and effective way of overcoming this was to get rid of the base image entirely. However, the idea was that I use images of texture to create a bump/normal map, but not include the image in the simulation.

I needed original and high quality photographs to base my new textures on and as I am a photographer by trade, this was easy and an enjoyable experience...



I also photographed Blackpool School of Arts Gallery floor. I used these images to create high quality  2048 normal/bump maps and threw away the original photographs (or at least did not use them) I tried to make 4096 versions but UE/Quest could not resolve them so well...

 
Normal maps for concrete wall and gallery floor.

And the results...


An image of my textures in use... I had to add a light in order to capture the screenshot as the gallery is nicely lit in the Quest but fairly dark on the laptop screen (which could point at an inherent problem?).

For me this is a good technical step forward. I no longer have to worry about repeating materials, I have the quality of texture that I need and together with carefully controlled lighting gives me the level of realism and sophistication that I have been looking for.

My next blog will include some video of my most recent experiments and analysis and evaluation of my most recent galleries.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

Real Wall Experiments

I would like to add more realness to my galleries and I figured I could do this by obtaining more realistic materials for the floor, walls and ceiling. I am not interested in recreating a real gallery, but I do want to use real attributes to create the illusion of realness.

I have tried a number of wall materials, both free and paid but they are relatively small and in areas larger that a couple of metres one starts to see repeating patterns which kills the illusion and therefore the immersive realism of the experience. This is a particular problem if I want to create a long approach to an artwork or utilise an expansive space in my design.

So, I have decided to create my own... and it turns out to be fairly easy. My background is in technical photography so taking good, sharp, exposed, colour balanced photographs of walls and ceilings is fairly straight forward for me. The floors are proving to be a problem, but I know someone with a drone who may be able to help. The main idea here is to capture very large area photographs and create materials that don't have to be tiled so much in the simulations.


Image captured through the Oculus Quest.

I made the above example to test the creation of a normal/bump map. It turned out to be dead easy as there is a filter in Photoshop and piecing the texture and material together is very straight forward in UE4. The biggest problem I've been having is the LOD in the Quest which does not seen to be working as it should, but it could have something to do with the 4096 tile size. However, the initial results are promising.

What should I do next...

• Find and photograph large area surfaces (no mean feat)
• Colour balance and equalise exposure
• Resize to 4096 squared
• Alter to smoothly tile
• Create a normal map
• Partner new material to project (or the other way round)
• The floor is a problem as ones feet, tripod, scaffolding or building are always going to be in the way, but if I find some appropriate floors I may be able to enlist some help form a friend with a HQ drone.

I created this floor a couple of weeks ago but was unable to get the height to capture a large enougth area so it is easy to see where it has tiled... the smudgy repeaters are a dead giveaway.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

Exploring the unique attributes of a VR art gallery

Recently I have been exploring the unique attributes that VR can bring to an art gallery. I have been particularly interested in attributes that can allow me to design new and original ways of exhibiting art works.

I have defined the following attributes as being unique to VR -

• the ability to create infinite space and/or spaces.
• the ability to exhibit artworks at any size.
• the feeling of actually being there.
• sense of isolation

...I am sure there are more that I have not identified yet...

I have created the following spaces to physically explore these attributes and weight them against the manifesto I set out earlier this year (link). They have all been created for the Oculus Quest.

The first gallery explores the use of space and scale and includes a precipitous walkway leading to a huge photograph provided by artist Helen Kay. The space and scale is maximised by the gorge like confines of the side walls and the inclusion of downward (cliff edge) space increases that feeling. However, the experience, especially for those with vertigo, outweighs the impact of the artwork, so does not pass rule number two of the VR Gallery Manifesto (link)

The second gallery is fairly radical in design and use. It uses the teleport system, that has become the standard way of navigating VR environments, to allow the viewer to move around the space in all directions (including vertical). So the gallery does not have to be navigable on a single plane/floor and does not need stairs to move between different heights. Spherical exhibition spaces lend themselves to this design very well, however, it meant that the exhibited artworks needed to be shown on round panels as square edged ones did not fit so well... and this is where this design fell down as it impinged on the view of the artworks and failed rule number three of the manifesto. But this does not mean the concept failed completely and is an area I want to explore in more detail soon.

An interesting observation was pointed out to me, that the design is very panoptic and almost allows the visitor to see all the artworks from the central room, but does not allow you to see any other artworks when you're stood in front of one... I have explored this concept before (link), but not made the connection to the panopticon.

The final gallery is the most 'normal' in design but has been designed to create differentiated space sizes. It also manages to encompass the over/under/through idea of introducing a sense of exploration to the gallery experience (link). It happily passes all the manifesto rules. However, it has not really furthered my research in the way the other two have but it is a safe and sophisticated design that I am fairly happy with.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

Major Breakthrough

I had a major breakthrough with the realness of my VR galleries today. This is to do with level of detail (LOD) of my materials - which are the photographs my galleries are exhibiting. The issue is one regarding interference patterns. See example below...


You can see the interference pattern quite clearly on the panel in the back ground.

It was not a huge problem on the Rift headset, but Quest seems to really exaggerate it, so I had to find a solution. My understanding was that UE4 sorted it out automatically, but it turns out that it will only do so if the image dimensions are to the power of 2! So I experimented...


Images to the power of 2 - 1024 square on left and 1024 x 2048 second left and originals on the right.

...and it worked. the problem has been totally solved...


The example looks a little blurry from the screen shot, but the Quest resolves if beautifully as you get closer. and the interference pattern is no longer a problem.

I now have the massive job of correcting all the images in my current galleries! However, it does throw up a major drawback of learning to use a piece of software through trial and error and it is that sometimes one does not even know that there is a problem and that the problem has a specific name and often a very straightforward fix. This is exaggerated by the fact that I do work in a bit of a vacuum and don't tend to meet people with knowledge in this field as often as I should.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

Experimenting With Quest Guardian Floor Area.

Because the Oculus Quest is cable free, there is potential to take advantage of a larger floor area, therefore allowing the viewer to move around a VR gallery freely without having to teleport. In this first experiment I translated the corridor measurements outside my office into a basic VR simulation using UE4 and then set up a guardian floor area in that same location.




Image at end of simulation by Helen Kay

It worked fairly well, except that the guardian floor area did not allow me to map the whole length of the corridor. I seemed to be limited to an area that was about six meters long, so this simulation did not have the intended effect... for me anyway. However, my students loved it because of the precipitous nature of the simulation and it actually turned into a great way of introducing newcomers to the possibilities of VR technologies, e.g. the ability to enter a new type of believable space.


5.5m x 5.5m square gallery.

I used the college gallery to try and work out what the largest guardian area could be defined and it seemed to be about 6m x 6m. I built a basic gallery based on those proportions and while it was nice to walk around teleport free, it felt small and constricted and (of course) did not take advantage of the immense possibility of VR space. However, I do think there is scope for a larger guardian area that allows greater free movement within a simulation to increase the immersiveness of the experience.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

My Research Has Been Published

My research has been published in Blackpool and The Fylde College's Scholarly Review 2019 and it is great to see it in print. An e-version can be viewed here - https://issuu.com/b_and_fc/docs/b_fc_scholarship_review_2019_for__print
please have a look.

  

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

First 'Finished' VR Gallery for Oculus Quest

I have had a lot of technical issues and hurdles to overcome, but I have finally managed to produce a VR gallery to a passable standard for the Oculus Quest.

The video below has been captured in UE4 but does run very well on the Quest. Of course the main benefit being that this headset is completely standalone and you don't need to lug a laptop and sensors around to use it, like you do on the Rift... brilliant!

Work exhibited in the gallery is by some of our current students and recent graduates - Helen Kay, Carl Jones, Sophie Gorner, Sian Lakin and Sam Wallis.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

Oculus Quest

One of the problems with the Oculus Rift is the fact that it is tethered to an expensive laptop. For development, this is fine, but when I'm showcasing the VR galleries and technology in busy public areas, the tether becomes a big problem and has been close to disaster a couple of times with the laptop almost being pulled off the table by overly exuberant participants. So, what I really needed was a standalone VR headset... I tried briefly, with an Oculus Go, but I was unable to connect it to UE4 to test it. However...

 

I now have an Oculus Quest, a standalone headset with greater movement capability and equal in resolution and reactivity to the Rift, without a tether! I had a a few issues setting up UE4 projects for Android (the headset runs on Android) and transferring them onto the headset, but below is the first test project I managed to play/view. This means I can now showcase The VR Gallery Project on equipment that fits in a normal sized bag. So far, I am impressed and can't wait to get started on some project ideas I have been working on.





The screen shots of the project in UE4 on the laptop, but I think I can video and screen capture within the Quest. I will write a more in-depth comparison between the Quest and Rift later.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

VR Gallery Manifesto

I thought it would be a fun but informative exercise to create a set of rules that governs the creation of a VR art gallery. Of course, these rules may change as my ideas develop and whilst they initially appear quite restrictive, they do allow for a lot of freedom in exhibition design. The idea is that I will test each design against the rules to see how the design and the rules stand up to the process...


VR GALLERY MANIFESTO

1. The gallery must not affect the meaning of a work of art in any way.
2. The gallery must not detract from the inherent value of a work of art.
3. The gallery must not impinge on the view of a work of art if it contravenes the first two rules.
4. The gallery can be used to reinforce the meaning of a work of art but must be done under the instruction of the artist and must not contravene the second and third rule.
5. The gallery should always aim to add value to a work of art as long as it does not contravene the first rule.
6. The gallery can be of any shape or size as long as it does not contravene the first three rules.
7. A work of art can be displayed on any surface as long as it does not contravene the first three rules.
8. A work of art can be viewed at any angle as long as it does not contravene the first three rules.
9. A work of art can be viewed in any environment as long as it does not contravene the first three rules.
10. A work of art can be displayed in environments of any colour as long as it does not contravene the first two rules.
11. The gallery design can encompass elements of decoration, exploration and discovery as long as it does not contravene the first three rules.
12. Every effort must be made to install and exhibit works of art in a way that is conducive to the viewing experience as long as it does not contravene the first two rules.
13. A work of art can be displayed at any size as long as it does not contravene the first three rules.
14. Each work of art (including a sequence and series) must demand the viewers undivided attention and its neighbours should not be visible during this interaction.
15. The viewing experience should be intuitive.
16. The viewing experience must not be greater than the exhibition.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

Khayalan - University of Chester

Art and Design students from the University of Chester have staged a VR art exhibition, using Second Life as a platform to include the wider public.

 


Images: https://1625285.wixsite.com/uniofchester/kuang-s-diary?lightbox=dataItem-jwkgc9up

The supporting blog contains a great overview of the project and can be accessed here.

It is great to see that some of my findings have been identified by someone else in a completely separate project. For example, Chris Millward (University of Chester, 2019), supervisor for the project says "With physical space often in high demand, sometimes it can be difficult for students and staff to experiment with artistic ideas or push the realms of what is possible. The virtual campus that we are creating allows us to explore ideas without “real life” costs or demands on limited space. This project focusses on visualising space and virtually curating exhibitions" which is one of the core aims of my project.

Also, statements from their students, such as - “Through this project we have gained experience in designing, building and curating an exhibition of our own work and although in virtual reality, these experiences can be carried over into the real world and will put us in a good position for when we reach our final year exhibition.” (University of Chester, 2019) - supports the benefits I identified, such as participants increase in confidence in their own work and how it can give a very real sense of learning new [curatorial] skills from the experience.

Interestingly, this is not their first attempt at virtual exhibitions. It appears that they created a similar exhibition back in 2011, but without the access via VR headsets, of course. However, some of the findings and benefits are quite similar!

Ref:
University of Chester. (2019). Second Life project showcases the best in new Art and Design. [online] Available at: https://www1.chester.ac.uk/news/second-life-project-showcases-best-new-art-and-design [Accessed 10 Jul. 2019].

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

Sustain at Free Range

VR previsualisation for Sustain exhibition at Free Range in London. UE4 view... The images on the wall are there just to give an idea how a certain sized print will look in the space (ranging from A4 to twice that of A0).

The actual space during set-up... it turned out that I put the roof on at the incorrect angle and made it too high in the simulation.


The view of the final exhibition.


If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

The Grand Vestibule - Update

I thought I should update you on the progress of the graduate exhibition at Blackpool Winter Gardens, that I used VR to help me design. The exhibition opened on the 6th June. I have been in a further three exhibitions since and this is the first time I have had to bring this blog up-to-date. The exhibition was called PANIC.

Firstly - here is a video of the VR version of the proposed exhibition design that I made to help the graphic designers create a design that worked with the panels and space....

This is from my previous post...


This is a photo of the actual exhibition and private view...


If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.

One Last Question...

I have just finished writing up my research (to 1st draft). And I realised that early in the text I was stating a fact without any evidence for it...but I knew the fact was correct, so it was just about finding the relevant piece of research that backed it up. However, I could not find it! So, yet another questionnaire had to be produced! Luckily I had plenty of willing subjects...

This new questionnaire was designed to find out how many people thought about the size of an artwork when they visited a gallery/exhibition. The participants were aged between 16 and 40 and all are in full time creative arts education at level 3.

Question:
What attracts you to an artwork in an exhibition? (what makes you go and have a look at it?) List everything you can think of.

Result:
Out of 29 respondents only four people included size.

This questionnaire showed us that scale is not something that most people (72.5%) look for, or are aware of when they visit an art exhibition.

 

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.